A prenup to plan for a blended family

Texas families come in all shapes and sizes, and so have the blended families resulting from remarriages. Blended families have their own set of issues to deal with and resolve and one of these is how to plan for the financial health of the whole family when these two sides combine. One way to do this is by drafting a prenuptial agreement.

Many people still believe prenups are only for wealthy or famous people, but the agreement can bring many benefits to all types of marriages. In a blended family in particular, where each side might have separate assets such as owning their own homes and where there might be unequal wealth, a prenup might help define the financial health and future of the new family and avoid the conflicts that could arise later on.

Premarital agreements can address what assets will be kept separate and which will be combined. This can include the types of bank accounts the family will have and whether these will be individual or joint. It can also outline the financial responsibilities of each spouse, such as who will be responsible for paying bills and who will be responsible for preparing and filing tax returns. The parties can also discuss how they will handle other financial responsibilities, such as paying for the kids' educations, extracurricular activities and college. The couple should also discuss how they will plan for retirement.

People who are about to remarry and who are interested in this type of an agreement might want to meet with an attorney to discuss their objectives. Attorneys will remind their clients that they have to make full financial disclosures in order to avoid a challenge to the agreement in the future.

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